When Great Granny Ida Jane Burr D. died, she left me some baby blankets that had kept my father warm as a baby and a cameo ring that his mother wore.  Grandmother Pearl was a tiny little lady because her ring size was smaller than a size 5, which is the smallest adult woman’s size.

          Tiny Pearl Goodsell, my Grandmother

I was twelve, so the ring fit me perfectly.  I wore it everywhere including my girlfriend Jane’s house where I forgot  it on the kitchen window sill, when I washed the dishes.  The following day, her maid lifted it, taking almost my entire inheritance.

Now Jane’s maid was a very sprightly young black woman, who used to pick cotton for extra money, so she could go to NYC.  She loved to tell us fun stories about her adventures there.  She also had wealthy friends who hired her seasonally in New York City.

She wore a cotton bandanna around her head and an old cotton dress with nylon hose rolled down to her ankles.  Her feet were flat, as were most black people’s, who worked in the fields picking cotton in the South.  She reminded me of the lady who played Prissy in Gone With the Wind, who was also living in the Augusta, GA area.

For some reason, many years later, I saw Pearl’s cameo ring in a Hollywood movie on the finger of a twelve year old.  Always wondered what happened to that ring.   I call that my cameo performance.